


Damsel in Distress

by loveiscosmicsin



Category: Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy XV x Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fake Relationship, One Shot, Rescue Boyfriend Scenario, lightis, noctlight, nokurai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7639198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveiscosmicsin/pseuds/loveiscosmicsin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not one good deed goes unpunished.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Damsel in Distress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SweetCrazy_DramaQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetCrazy_DramaQueen/gifts).



> For @stephanythedramaqueen because she’s amazing and I wanted to gift her a thing since we finished our collaborative LuNyx smut one-shot. My thank you writing to you, my friend. I never think my writing good enough for someone to want to do a collab project. So idea came about when I was re-reading my Stucky fanfic of how Steve and Natasha met in it and thought, “How about that same situation with the fake boyfriend bailing a girl out, but for Lightis?” Let me know if I made any mistakes. Okay, that’s it. I have a million drabbles, headcanons, and requests to do so I’m gonna get back to it.

Noctis had intended to sleep tonight but after an hour of tossing and turning, it was a fruitless wish. He had sent a text in a group message stating his distress and was surprised to find his three friends awake. Ignis and Prompto were at Gladiolus and Cidney’s house with Iris. The sentinel invited the prince to come over and spend the night.

Rather than to force himself the further exertion and the perpetual plane of weariness not deterring him from social interaction, he decided to leave in the clothes he had on, hoodie and sweat shorts. He was going to crash on the couch anyway.

It was common practice for the young prince to sleep over at his friends’ houses that they provided a spare toothbrush and a set of basic amenities for him. He had some clean clothes taking up space in their closets as well.

The Amicitia and Aurum residence was a couple blocks away from the Caelum Mansion that the crown prince felt no need to drive there. The ornate street lights had illuminated every step he took towards his destination. Noctis drew up his hood, securing his raven locks as he kept his face obscured and jammed his hands in his pockets. There were people who were up at this hour and had passed the prince without incident.

“Almost there…” Noctis yawned as the familiar lure of sleep crept on him. As tempting as it was at that moment, he wasn’t going to rest on the sidewalk. His friends were expecting him.

“No.”

Noctis’ hearing picked up on a voice laced with wintry venom across the street from him.

The Lucian prince could barely make out a couple cloaked in the dim lighting. He beheld the first feature within his sight, striking rosette hair that belonged to a young woman. The second man reached out to grab the woman’s arm when she turned away from him.

“I said no.” She jerked her arm away from his grasp, retreating until a harsh street light radiated an angelic aura about her. The pink haired woman wore a an ebony cocktail dress with a lace trim that ended at mid-thigh and left an exposed backside, matching high heels she stomped in, and silver spiral earrings that shook violently as she chewed her male companion apart. “I told you that I don’t want to take you to my house. You’re really an idiot if you think I’ll say yes now.”

“Weren’t we having a good time, baby?” The man thrust his arms from his sides and cocked his head, unapologetically. “You let me pay for everything. We should keep the fire going to see how this night ends.”

Noctis scowled just as the woman had, almost simultaneously. He hated men like those who could not take no for an answer and feel entitled for sex because they offered to pay the bills in full. When a lady says no, it doesn’t constitute for a yes.

The prince could have walked away, it was not his conflict to intervene. But when the man persisted to harass the woman, he decided he could not turn a blind eye. To his best judgment, it was not a typical lovers’ quarrel.

When the woman clenched her silver clutch bag tighter, he knew he had to rescue her before any harm came to her.

In an act of honorable bravado, the prince ran towards the couple and draped his arm around the strawberry blonde’s bare shoulders. She wasn’t short but the heels she wore made her almost as tall as he was. Both the woman and the man were reasonably startled by his sudden appearance.

The mask of the pseudo-boyfriend was easily adopted when the charming smile graced his features. “Hey babe, I tried calling to let you know I was on the way. Guess you got tired waiting. I’ll make it up to you, okay?” He deliberately threw the man under cool scrutiny, making no attempt to disguise his contempt. “Who’s this guy?”

The woman stiffened under the prince’s touch but Noctis squeezed her shoulder to assure her that he could be trusted.

Her crystal blue orbs blazed with unreserved fury and the last thing Noctis saw was the crown of her head colliding straight into his face.

Not that the recollection mattered because his charitable and chivalrous mood was soon replaced by blinding pain.

Not one good deed goes unpunished.

Hot splotches of white exploded his field of vision like stars. His universe that he knew of became a multitude of colors, black, white, pink, red, even when his eyes were sealed shut. Heat immediately filled his senses diverted to his nose. The howls of agony he emitted, nearly animalistic and undignified from the blow and suffering, he shielded his nose. He failed to notice immediately that the male companion had fled in the confusion. When Noctis opened his eyes, all he saw was the bombshell rosette who struck him, astonished aqua colored orbs and divine glossy lips moving too fast for him to catch her words, she tenderly drew his hood back and touched his shoulder.

“Let me see.” She said softly, the aggression from her stance diminished as she attempted to coax Noctis’ hands away from his face.

He could have denied her the pleasure or lambasted her on the spot, but all his attention was focused on his nose to do either of those things. Wincing, he pulled away his hands and as he couldn’t inspect himself, he gauged her reactions and that alone would serve as a verdict for his state.

“You’re bleeding.” She stated, callously.

He felt fine, aside the inflamed discomfort from his nose. Gingerly prodding the bruise, his fingers touched warm liquid dripping past his lips. Blood.

The woman’s brow furrowed as she eased the stunned prince to sit down on a stoop. Her hands, though strong, were compassionate and intimate against his chest.

“Lean back.”

That would lead to him swallowing his own blood and he had no desire to deal with the metallic aftertaste tonight so he remained motionless. No thanks.

Instead, he scoffed, prompting drops of red to fall on the front of his hoodie. “It’s a good thing I’m wearing black right now or this would be embarrassing.” He added sardonically with a snort, but immediately hissed at the effort.

The woman ignored him and instead fished through her clutch for a packet of tissues. Deftly tearing through the paper, she shoved the rolled up lumps up Noctis’ nostrils.

Sore, but able to focus away from his now throbbing nose, Noctis was attentive to the woman kneeling in her heels before him. She was a beauty up close. Wavy tendrils of pink fell from her bouffant bun, flawless skin, black number accentuated her athletic form perfectly, and her full lips drew apart and closed in a matter that the prince found breathtakingly distracting about this woman.

Noctis had to draw a conversation. The lady knew how to hit hard and it hurt like hell, but he didn’t blame her for it. “Do you do this to all the men you headbutt or am I your first?”

“Yes, because they deserved it and would’ve ran away by now.” The rosette curiously gave him a final once over before she hugged her knees together, packet of tissues in her fist. “This is also a first that a guy tried to pretend being my rescue boyfriend. Does that work often?”

“It scared him off, didn’t it?”

The woman chuckled. He appreciated that she took it as a joke rather than to correct him. He was not going to admit that he was just going by what the romantic comedies have tried and succeeded.

“I’m Noctis.” The crown prince held out his hand.

“Claire.” Smirking, she took his hand and gave it an amicable squeeze.

Great grip, Noctis thought as her hand slid in and relaxed in his. They remained that way silently before he felt that he should say something. “Claire, uh, I was in the wrong. I just didn’t like how your boyfriend was—”

“That wasn’t my boyfriend.” The pink haired woman pulled her hand away and groaned disgust into her lap. “Blind date and a total tool. Serah set us up.”

“Serah?” Noctis inquired as he yanked a bloody lump from his nostril. Bad decision, he was still bleeding.

Claire looked up at him and gently inserted a clean wad in his nostril. “My sister.”

The conversation between Noctis and Claire carried off from there. From him complimenting her headbutt to her reassurances that his nose was not broken, they bonded over small topics to large. Noctis found it easy to smile and laugh when she did. Even when the bleeding had stopped, she continued to speak to him and shifted from kneeling to taking the space beside him on the stoop.

Victory fanfare tooted, breaking the spell between the young individuals. It was Noctis’ cell phone vibrating sporadically in harmony with the fortissimo ringtone. Claire raised a rose-tinted eyebrow while Noctis answered the phone.

“Yo, Noct, did you get lost? I thought you were coming!” Prompto’s voice whined through.

Noctis placed his hand over the receiver. “My friends.” He told her before listening to Prompto’s uninterrupted rambling. “Yes, I’m coming. Fine… I’ll bring a cake for making you wait. Bye.” He ended the call, sighing. “I thought they want me there sooner.”

Claire rose to her feet and nearly ran her hands over the sides of her dress before facing Noctis.

Noctis mirrored her and held out the nearly empty packet of tissues to her.

“Take them. I have plenty at home.” She crossed her arms, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “I don’t know what bakery opens this late, but you shouldn’t keep your friends waiting.”

“Do you need to be walked home?” The offer came out of his mouth and he instantly regretted them. “I mean, not I think you need it. You can handle yourself—”

“No,” Claire walked up to him, patting his arm with her clutch. “but I think you need a fake girlfriend so you don’t get sidetracked when you get that cake.”


End file.
